What You Should Know About Adoption

Adoption is the legal process of establishing a parent-child relationship where usually there is a non-existent natural relationship between them. In short, a child born from one set of parents becomes a child of another set of parents through legal means. After adoption, the adoptive parents assume all the rights and responsibilities that the biological parents used to hold. Adoption is usually done by a married couple to a minor who is not their natural child. In England for instance, an unmarried mother may adopt her own child so that the inheritance rights of her child are assured.

Records show that in the United States almost half of all the adoptions are by relatives. Mostly these adopted children are born in wedlock while four out of five children adopted by strangers are born out of the bonds of marriage and are illegitimate. The United States has the highest percentage of white mothers who give their illegitimate child for adoption as compared with other countries. It has been observed that adoption agencies find it difficult to place older children, handicapped children and children of Negro or mixed race for adoption. Prompted by this reality, in 1957 a Montreal adoption agency pioneered a program that places part Negro children in white homes. Since then, similar efforts have been followed by several cities in the United States and Canada.

There are two legal ways in which a couple desiring to adopt a baby can do so. First, they can go and apply to an adoption agency. The agency will assist them in looking for a child to adopt and who matches with their physical characteristics and background. The couple is screened by the agency's social worker and their capacity for parenthood is assessed. The couple should have a stable marriage and they should exhibit the capacity to love a child. These are the two basic rules a couple must adhere to in order to be granted adoption rights. But aside from these basic rules, most agencies require couples to follow additional guidelines and requirements. These include:

A proof of infertility that should be provided by the applicant since most adoption agencies require this, especially if the couple wants to adopt a white infant.
They should live within a specified geographic area.
They should belong to a church.
They should be under a maximum age.
The wife should be able to take care of the child.

Because some of these criteria have been attacked through the years as having little validity, now the requirements are becoming more accommodating.

Second, they can adopt a child directly from the natural parents by what is known as "independent adoption". Both these two methods of adoption go through judicial approval. Some couples engage in illegal placement referred to as "black market babies". This involves the paying of money for the child whether directly to the natural parents or through an intermediary who arranges the placement.

Adoption can bring a new meaning to life for both to the child and the new parents. The child can fill the void in the adoptive parent's lives and the adoptive parents can fill the child's longing for loving parents that can nurture him or her physically and emotionally.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Adoption